LA Philanthropist Raises $1 Million for Yeshiva

Los Angeles philanthropist Lee Samson has been honored by the Kiryat Shmona Hesder Yeshiva for his donations and raising $1 million for the institution, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Samson, who donated another $100,000 to the yeshiva at the ceremony, noted that his sister and brother-in-law came to the northern Galilee town in the 1960s. "Some things don’t change," he said. "The border is still dangerous, Lebanon is still an enemy and the Israelis who live here are as courageous as ever and true heroes to all American Jews." However, he noted that the yeshiva has changed from a tiny place of Torah learning to a large institution. Samson, who is chairman of the American Friends of Yeshivat Kiryat Shmona, also emphasized that many yeshiva students did not attend the ceremony because they did not want to interrupt their regular Torah studies.